Unitary cap visor

ABSTRACT

A HAT CONSTRUCTION FOR HATS OF THE MILITARY TYPE, INCLUDING A VISOR, THE VISOR BEING OF UNITARY FORM AND BEING CONSTRUCTED OF PLASTIC MATERIAL.

P. G. GALLIN UNITARY CAP VISOR Sept. 28, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJan. 16, 1969 lm [I INVENTOR PAUL G. GALLIN ATTORNEYS US. Cl. 2-209.3 4Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hat construction for hats of themilitary type, eluding a visor, the visor being of unitary form andbeing constructed of plastic material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 682,225, filed Nov. 13,1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Military-type hat constructions haveconventionally employed visors which combine the utilitarian functionsof blocking glare from sunlight or the like, and of providing a handlefor the manipulation of the hat, with a decorative appearance. Previousvisors of this class have been of laminated fiber or leatherconstruction generally embodying a semirigid interior backing with aleather or imitation leather cover held thereover by a stitched binding.After some use and exposure to the elements, the visor bindings becomefrayed, the sheen of the cover is dissipated and the body portionbecomes misshapen.

Other types of caps have previously employed nonfibrous visors of thin,nonrigid, form where transparency is a requirement. One example of thelatter type of cap is found in United States Patent No. 1,624,727(Goldberg, 1927). Such visors, due to the severe handling to whichmilitary caps are subjected, are not suited to use in connection withhats of this type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, hats of themilitary variety are provided with a firm, substantially rigid,serviceable visor portion capable of maintaining a neat, undeformedappearance despite extensive use and exposure. The improved visor may bemolded with any desired surface characteristic simulating leather,binding and/or stitching, is easily cleaned when soiled, and is highlyresistant to damage by water or by other types of inclement weather.Specifically, the visor comprise a rigid, usually opaque, plastic moldedto the proper configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hatconstructed and assembled in accordance with the teachings of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of a first form ofhot, taken substantially on the section line indicated by the arrows inFIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of a first form ofhat, taken substantially on the section line indicated by the arrows inFIG! 1;

FIG. 3 is a like sectional view showing a modification;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the upper side of a modified visoraccording to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4,and

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of the under side of anothermodification of the visor.

United States Patent 0 3,608,094 Patented Sept. 28,, 1971 DESCRIPTION OFTHE INVENTION Referring now in detail to the drawing, specifically toFIGS. 1 and 2, a hat construction 10 is shown without its outer coverwhich is of optional design, such covers conventionally being removablefor cleaning. In the hat construction 10, the hat comprises an annular,head encircling main frame 12, having a visor 11 secured to andprojecting from the front thereof. The frame 12 is formed of a semirigidmaterial such as plastic, straw fiber, or the like, and has oppositeupper and lower edge portions 14, 16 respectively. As shown in FIG. 2,the lower edge portion 16 has an outwardly flared section 18 whichoccupies at least the front area of the flame for attachment of thevisor 11.

A first fabric binding 20 is secured about the upper edge portion of theframe throughout its full peripheral extent, by a line of stitching 22.Overlying the first binding 20, and of a substantially greater depth atboth sides, is a second binding 24. The second binding is afiixed to theframe 12 by stitching 26. The effect of these two bindings arranged withthe larger one thereof in terms of side depth overlying the shorter, isto form a thickened top portion terminating at inner and outer ridges 28which serve as an aid in retaining and in shaping the hat cover.

A third binding 30, consisting of inner and outer panels 32, 34,respectively, and a connecting portion 36, is secured by stitching 38 tothe lower edge portion 16 of the frame. In the area 18 for attachment ofthe visor, the outer panel 34 is of increased height relative to theheight of the inner panel 32, the latter being reduced in that area asshown in FIG. 2.

The visor 11, according to the invention, comprises a molded plasticbody portion 42 of unitary, substantially rigid one-piece plastic of ascratch, weather and water resistant type. The body portion is of arigidity at least equal to the composition visor of the prior art, andis of crescent form in plan view, including a concave, tapered innerside edge 44, and a convex outer side edge 46 which merges at the endsof the body with the inner side. The body further has an upper face 48and a lower face 50, and is arched inwardly as shown so as to be concavein that direction.

The visor 11 is secured to the flared section 18 of the frame over theouter panel 34 of the third binding by stitch means 52 which extendthrough the visor binding panels and the frame. The stitching procedureis accomplished on existing machinery without any modification thereof.The angularity and configuration of the flared section 18 is such thatthe sewing operation is readily accomplished, and a secure connectioneffected.

A band 54 of felt or the like is sewn about the periphery of the frameand has a front panel 56 of greater size than the remaining portions topartially overlie the visor and to further shape the cover. The band ispreferably hemmed at its lower edge for neatness of appearance. It willalso be understood that an inner sweat band is attached in the finalstage of manufacture.

FIG. 3 shows a modified construction 10a including a frame 12a and visor11a. Elements corresponding to those heretofore described are identifiedby like reference characters, a letter a being added for distinction.The second form of the invention is characterized chiefly by theincorporation of an extension of the body portion 42a of the visor 11a.The extension 100 is vertically oriented in use in respect to theangular inclination of the visor, so as to fit substantially flushagainst the central section of the frame 12a above the flare-d portion18a thereof.

The extension 100 may be tapered and/or somewhat thinner than the visorbody portion 42a and may be attached to the frame 12a in the same manneras the usual, composite prior art visors. For example, a single 3 row ofstitching 102 may serve to securing the binding 30a in place and thevisor to the frame. By this arrangement, the flare of the portion 18a issubstantially reduced. Consequently, this structure is quite similar tothe usual structure wherein the flexible outer cover of the compositevisor is turned upwardly around the frame.

In addition to the previously cited advantages of the molded visor,there are many additional advantages in that decoration and/ orsimulated constructions can be integrally incorporated. Whereas thevisor shown in FIG. 1 has a glossy outer surface simulating patentleather and also has a plain, smooth free edge or rim 46, the visor issubject to many variations such, for example, as shown in FIG. 4,wherein a visor 11b is similar in structure to the visor 11a andincludes a body portion 42b having a rim portion 46b that is so moldedas to simulate a binding strip 70 and/or stitching 72. The integralformation of the binding strip 70 and stitching 72 is better illustratedin the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. Other decorative features, suchas insignia, emblems or the like 74 likewise may be molded in situ onthe upper outer surface of the body 42b. Alternatively, as shown in FIG.5, the emblem 74 may be provided with anchoring means 76 which areembedded in the body portion 42b of the visor.

In addition to the glossy surface simulating patent leather, as shown inFIG. 1, the surface may be so molded as to present a surface simulatinga fine leather, such as alligator, as shown in FIG. 4, on the outer sideand a matte surface simulating canvas or the like on the underside, asshown in FIG. 5. Preferably, the underside of the visor is alwaysprovided with a matte surface to preclude reflection of light rays intothe wearers eyes and, as shown in FIG. 6, the un-dersurface of the body420 of the visor 11c may be provided with a matte surface simulatingfine kid leather.

In view of the solid single piece structure of the visor formed of stiffor rigid plastic it will retain its shape despite hard and rugged use.It will withstand the effects of the elements, will shed dirt and mayreadily be cleaned. Finally, there is no edge binding to become worn andfrayed. Moreover, the molded visor is lighter in weight and lesscumbersome than the composite visor. Whereas the standard laminatedcomposite visor averages about of an inch in thickness and iscorrespondingly heavy, a molded plastic visor according to the presentinvention may be only of an inch in thickness and correspondinglylighter in weight. Thus, clearly it is evident that it has a much longerlife and many decided advantages over the standard composite visorstructure. Furthermore, the visor may be molded in any selected colorsuch as black, green, gray or brown, and the color will remain constantand uniform throughout production and will not fade or discolor in useand is readily cleaned with soap and water.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hat of the military type, a hat construction comprising:

an annular, head encircling frame having upper and lower edge portions;

a first binding strip about the upper edge portion;

a second binding strip of increased depth relative to and overlappingthe first binding strip, stitch'means securing said second binding stripto the frame upper edge portion;

a third binding strip about the lower edge portion;

the third binding strip having inner and outer panels;

the outer panel being of increased height relative to the inner panel;

a visor formed of solid plastic material, the visor being of crescentform and having a concave inner edge section and a convex outer edgeportion;

stitch means extending through the inner edge section of the visorconnecting it to the frame over said outer panel of the third binding;and

an overlying annular band of felt material about the frame, the bandhaving a front section of increased width relative to the remainingportion of said overlying annular band covering the inner edge of thevisor and a subtantial portion of the frame thereabove.

2. In the hat according to claim 1 wherein said inner edge of the visoris upwardly extended to lie in a plane contiguous and parallel to saidlower edge portion of the frame.

3. In a hat according to claim 1 wherein said visor includes integralformations simulating decorative constructional features.

4. In a hat according to claim 1, wherein said inner edge of said visoris tapered,

said visor being of integral, unitary construction of opaque plasticmaterial and of a thickness and rigidity to retain the shape of saidvisor and said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,273,376 7/1918 Jones 22452,144,926 1/ 1939 Lawton 401.5 2,424,279 7/ 1947 Libshutz et al 2-1952,579,196 12/1951 Lev 2-195 2,649,923 8/1953 Brent 63--20X 2,875,4473/1959 Goldmerstein 2171.2

FOREIGN PATENTS 9,052 4/1903 Great Britain 2--195 I ORDAN FRANKLIN,Primary Examiner.

G. H. KRISMANICH, Assistant Examiner

